Team or Club? 

I’ve been to two away games in the last three days. Or have I? 

Arsenal tickets are arguably the hottest in English football right now. As all of us trying to obtain tickets through the online portal can testify. So tickets in the away end for Tottenham on Sunday were harder to find than the tin of polish needed for their trophy cabinet. And it meant there were many more thousands of Gooners out there who were not as lucky as the three thousand or so inside the stadium.

But are we supporting the team or the club? Or both? Or is there actually any difference? 

Well, I guess supporting the ‘club’ means everything surrounding it. The men, the women, the academy, the charity work, the community aspects, the worldwide image, the supporters clubs etc etc etc.

But that would make it a full time job, surely. So supporting the ‘club’ in its entirety is impossible when we look at it like that. 

There are people out there (and believe me it’s very few) who if it’s physically possibly will attend every single match, involving any team that wears the cannon on their chest. And being someone who goes to every men’s game, anywhere on the planet and pretty much every other friendly and Papa John’s Trophy fixture, even I find it incredible that those have the time to get to even more than me.

But that is the point for me. Is it the case that these other games not involving the men’s first team are just not possible to attend due to life’s commitments? Or even if you could, do you still not want to go anyway? And I guess, does either mean your ‘support can be questioned?

I went to St James’ Park last night for the FA Youth Cup tie. All the way from the Isle of Wight. And amongst the just under a thousand in attendance on a biting freezing cold evening, there were very few others supporting Jack Wilshere’s team. 

But does that mean there are very few out there who support the ‘club’? Of course it doesn’t.  

Football fans are a fickle bunch. And there are no fixed guidelines to the word ‘support’. For me, if someone in a pub asks you who your team are and you can give a definitive answer, that is enough. The life decisions we make involving our team is a whole different matter. And a choice. Not a competition as to who is the ‘biggest’ or ‘most loyal’.

The intensity, the passion, the noise, the tension, the adrenalin and the joy of Sunday was phenomenal. An incredible experience. And it could not possibly have been more different to the near silence and relaxed nature up in Newcastle two days later. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t jump to my feet, punch the air and scream ‘get in!’ when we notched our late winner. Otherwise what was the point of even attending?

My team is Mikel Arteta’s team. And my club is the Arsenal.Hence why I made the long midweek trip to the north-east.Different? Not really.

Or is it?